


The Baby

by Jathis



Category: Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Adoption, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Humor, M/M, Orphans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21521767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jathis/pseuds/Jathis
Summary: Stanley comes across Père Robert and a surprise
Relationships: LeFou & Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast), LeFou/Stanley (Disney: Beauty and the Beast)
Kudos: 4





	The Baby

They were so focused on admiring the greenery around them that they almost didn’t see Père Robert as he rode past them on his donkey back towards Villeneuve. Stanley blinked and looked up, sweeping their hat off of their head in respect. “Bonjour! I didn’t think I would see you out on the road so late,” they said. They turned Bisou around, guiding the mare to walk alongside the smaller donkey. “It should be nightfall in another hour or so.”

“I had some business in one of our neighboring towns,” he said. “What of you? What brings you out here so late, Stanley?”

“The prince had heard rumors of travelers being accosted nearby. He wanted me to check and see if this was true or not,” Stanley explained. “I have not found anything however so I’m sure this road is safe, Père.”

“That is some good news for today at least.”

“Père?” Stanley asked. It was then that they noticed the woven basket the priest was carefully balancing in front of him, keeping it as still as possible.

“The mother died during birth,” he explained, opening the top to show Stanley the newborn sleeping inside. “Sadly the father...was less than enthusiastic about keeping the child his wife died to bring into this world. Something about the birthmark’s placement seemed to add to his distaste for her.”

Stanley frowned at that, shaking their head. The newborn was fast asleep, wrapped in a thin blanket. A dark colored birthmark was spread over the entire bridge of her nose, almost resembling the mark left when a drop of water hit a hard surface. “He abandoned his own baby?”

“It could be worse,” the priest said with a shrug, “he could have left it on the side of the road or thrown it down a well somewhere.” Robert watched the way Stanley looked down at the baby, raising an eyebrow. “A girl,” he offered.

“What will happen to her now?” Stanley asked, trying and failing to keep the worry out of their voice.

“I shall have to try and find someone to take the child in. If not, I’ll have to send her to one of the bigger orphanages in the city,” Père Robert explained.

“She’s so small,” Stanley murmured, fingers brushing over the blanket wrapped around the newborn.

“Would you like to hold her?” He smiled at the way Stanley’s cheeks turned red and he pulled his mount to a stop.

“...can I?” Stanley softly asked.

“I would not have offered if you could not,” he kindly laughed. Carefully he pulled the newborn out of the basket, holding her close before holding her out to Stanley. “Make sure you support the head,” he directed. He watched as Stanley took the newborn from him, face softening as they adjusted their body and arms to hold her carefully. “You’re a natural,” he noted.

“She’s so small,” Stanley whispered again. They ran their tongue over their lips, biting the lower one briefly as they watched her start to stir. They held their breath, staring down into dark eyes as she woke and stared up at them. To his surprise she didn’t cry, simply looking up at them.

“Would you like to take her?”

Stanley blinked and looked at the priest with wide eyes. “Huh?”

Père Robert smiled, gesturing to the newborn with a hand. “The child. Would you like to take her?” he repeated.

“Me? But…”

“You and your husband are both employed at the castle. You can take proper care of her. I am also aware of how much love you are both capable of giving. She would be blessed to have you as her parents.”

Stanley looked down at the baby again, slowly nodding their head. “Has she been baptized?” they asked.

“Baptized but unnamed,” Robert said with a nod. He smiled as he handed over the basket, knowing that Stanley would not need it based on how they held her in the crook of their arm. He watched as Stanley kicked their mare into a trot back towards the castle, glad he had found a new family for the baby so easily.

***

“Stanley came back early from their patrol today. I assume this is a good sign,” Chapeau said. 

“Early?” Lefou asked, looking up from his supper with some of the others. 

“Oui, they’ve been home at least an hour or so by now.”

“They didn’t come and see me after coming back,” Lefou said with a frown.

“The last I saw they were headed for the study to speak with the prince and princess. I believe they were carrying something too.”

“Maybe Stanley discovered something during their ride and had to report to them?” Mrs. Potts offered.

“I hope it wasn’t anything serious…”

The castle’s doorman could only shrug his thin shoulders. “They did not seem harmed when I saw them earlier. A bit flustered perhaps but nothing that should cause any alarm.”

“Did you see what they were carrying?” Lefou asked. Chapeau shook his head Lefou frowned to himself before getting up. “I’m going to check on them,” he said.

“Try not to barge into the room, dear. There still has to be a modicum of rules of respect between servant and royalty in this castle,” Mrs. Potts warned.

“I will most certainly keep that in mind,” Lefou promised over his shoulder. It was hard not to just start running as the kitchen door closed behind him. The idea of something being wrong made his chest tighten and heart race. Stanley always came to see him first after a ride, which meant something happened to make them change that routine today.

It was very difficult for Lefou not to imagine that something bad had happened during his spouse’s ride. He knew that it was foolish. He was really living up to his namesake when he thought like this. Perhaps this was what some people meant when they said he was clingy? That was still so confusing. He didn’t really get that.

He sighed as he stood in front of the closed doors to the study. He stopped himself from knocking, hugging himself as he cracked his jaw softly to keep his hands occupied. He didn’t hear any shouting so it wasn’t as if anything was going wrong currently. All he needed to do was wait and see what happened once the doors opened. With this in mind, Lefou took a seat in one of the chairs beside the doors, running a hand through his hair in a false attempt to calm his nerves.

A few times Lefou thought he could hear laughter behind the door. This made him perk up a little. Nothing bad could follow laughter, right? But then...what were they laughing about? And why had Stanley gone to them first?

He fought down the urge to leap up as he heard the doors opening. Instead he stood up as calmly as he was able to, brushing off his breeches with a polite clearing of his throat. He bowed in respect as Adam and Belle stepped out of the room first.

“Lefou! We were just going to call for you!” Belle said.

“Me?”

“Oui! We are so happy for you and Stanley!”

“Uh..?”

Adam hid a smile behind his hand, shaking his head. “Go and speak with Stanley in the study and you’ll understand,” he said.

“Merci,” Lefou hummed, slipping into the room. “Stanley..?” He blinked at what he found waiting for him, shaking his head a little as if to clear his vision. He closed his eyes and then opened them again, finding that the image in front of him did not change at all. “Oh…”

Stanley blushed, looking down at the baby cradled in their arms. She had woken up a short while ago, taking in everything around her with wide dark eyes. They adjusted their hold on her just so, giving Lefou a better look at the baby as he stepped closer. “I haven’t named her yet,” they said.

“Her?”

“Oui, Père Robert said she was a girl.”

“Stanley, where did you get a newborn? She doesn’t even look older than a day!” Lefou whispered. 

“I met Père Robert on the road. He had her in a basket. Her maman died giving birth and her papa...her papa gave her to him to bring back and do with as he needed to.”

“The papa?”

“Oui, something about her birthmark being a bad omen.”

“It’s just a fairy saddle.”

“A what?”

“It means she’s considered special to the Fair Folk,” Lefou explained.

“Well her papa didn’t see it that way and he gave her away.”

Lefou nodded a little. “She’s an orphan,” he noted.

“Well…” Stanley bit their lip as Lefou looked at them, raising an eyebrow for an explanation. “I mean...if she were an orphan then she wouldn’t have any parents, oui? And I…”

His expression softened as Stanley struggled to find the right words. Gently he reached out, taking the baby from them to hold in his arms. She shifted only slightly, settling down easily in his hold. “She’s a very calm baby,” he noted.

“She hasn’t made a loud noise since waking up,” Stanley said, “a few soft coos and sighs, but not anything louder than that.”

“She’s been baptized?”

“Oui.”

“Name?”

“Not yet but…”

Lefou smiled knowingly at them, “but..?”

“Well I would be lying if I said I had not thought of some names,” Stanley said.

“Let me guess...Jeanne?” Lefou laughed.

Stanley pouted and huffed, standing up to watch over the baby Lefou held. “It’s a strong name!” they said. “She can be anything with a name like that.”

“You are predictable, cher et cherie.” Lefou looked back down at the baby, humming thoughtfully as he considered. “What about Jeanne-Marie?” he offered.

“Jeanne-Marie?”

“Oui, so you can have your namesake and we can make sure the Virgin watches over her. Since you know...only one namesake is actually a saint.”

Stanley huffed, pouting as they placed their hands on their hips. “Jeanne d’Arc will be named a saint one day! Just you wait and see!” they hissed. “It is a sin against God that she hasn’t been made one already!”

Lefou just laughed, perking up when the baby started to laugh too. “Look at that! Her first laugh!” he said.

“I knew you would be a good papa,” Stanley said. Carefully they hugged Lefou around his shoulders, resting their chin on his head as they looked down at the baby. “Our little Jeanne-Marie,” they breathed.


End file.
